1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to distributed object filtering and more specifically to a method and apparatus for generating and receiving objects between a client and a server and applying filters to the objects.
2. Background of the Invention
Spectrum(trademark) is a model-based network management system, sold by Cabletron Systems, Inc., Rochester, N.H., for maintaining and processing information pertaining to the condition of a communications network and providing the same to a user. For example, the Spectrum(trademark) system will periodically poll a network device to request information, such as the number of packets sent on the network in a given time and the number of errors that occurred. If the error rate is above a predetermined limit, an error alarm is logged in a Spectrum(trademark) system database, an object may be sent to the user interface to notify the network manager, and a message is sent to shut off the corresponding network device. These objects may be, for example, alarms that are passed from a server to a client. A server and client may be, for example, a network management system and an application program.
Alternatively, if no response was received from the network device when it was polled, the reason for the loss of contact should be determined so that appropriate action, such as a service call, can be taken. In a network environment, loss of contact with a network device may be due to failure of that network device or to failure of another network device that is involved in the transmission of a message.
In many prior art network management systems, the network administrator was typically provided with a list of possible causes of a fault and was required to isolate the fault based on his experience and knowledge of the network. In Spectrum(trademark), the system itself isolates network defaults using a technique known as Status Suppression. Spectrum(trademark) maintains a database of models for each network device. When contact between a model and its corresponding network device is lost, the model sets a fault status and initiates the fault isolation technique. The model (first model) which lost contact with its corresponding network device (first network device) determines whether adjacent models have lost contact with their corresponding network devices; adjacent network devices are defined as those which are directly connected to a specified network device. If adjacent models cannot contact the corresponding network devices, then the first network device cannot be the cause of the fault, and its fault status in the first model will be overridden. By suppressing the fault status of the network devices which are determined not to be defective, the defective network device can be identified. Once the fault has been isolated, the condition of the defective device can be updated in the Spectrum(trademark) database, a control message can be sent shutting off the defective device, and the network administrator can be notified via the user interface.
Spectrum(trademark) associated SpectroGRAPH(trademark) user interface provides a graphical view into the network models. An alarm log view, shown in FIG. 1, includes an area 120 for the listing of current alarms, and an area 122 for displaying information pertaining to a selected alarm. The user may click on a particular alarm in the listing of current alarms to obtain more information. A multi-function icon 124 representing the network device having a fault is displayed in area 122, with one or more text fields 126 and 128 which provide information to the user regarding the cause of the alarm and the status of the device. By clicking on specified areas of the icon 124, the user can obtain further information regarding the device for which an alarm is registered.
Another system for managing faults in large communications networks includes a what is referred to in the art as a xe2x80x9ctrouble-ticketingxe2x80x9d system. This system provides a number of tools that can be used by network users, administrators, and repair and maintenance personnel. The basic data structure, a xe2x80x9ctrouble-ticketxe2x80x9d, includes a number of fields in which a user can enter data describing the parameters of an observed network fault. A trouble-ticket filled out by a user may then be transmitted by, for example, an electronic mail system to maintenance and repair personnel. A trouble-ticket describing a current network fault that needs to be acted on is called xe2x80x9can outstanding trouble-ticketxe2x80x9d. When the network fault has been corrected, the solution to the problem, typically called a xe2x80x9cresolutionxe2x80x9d is entered into an appropriate data field in the trouble-tickets in memory and thus a library of such tickets is created, allowing users, administrators, and maintenance and repair personnel to refer to the stored completed trouble-tickets for assistance in determining solutions to future network faults. An example of a trouble-ticketing system is the ACTION REQUEST system, developed by Remedy Corporation, Mountain View, Calif., and sold by Cabletron Systems, Inc., Rochester, N.H.
ARS Gateway(trademark) is a network management application sold by Cabletron Systems, Inc. which receives fault information from the Spectrum(trademark) system and automatically generates a trouble-ticket that may be processed by the ACTION REQUEST system. This ARS Gateway(trademark) may function as a client system that receives and processes objects. This system is further described in copending and commonly owned U.S. Ser. No. 08/023,972 filed Feb. 26, 1993 by Lundy Lewis, and entitled xe2x80x9cMethod and Apparatus for Resolving Faults in Communications Networksxe2x80x9d and which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Another application program for managing faults includes a business process management system. This system allows an administrator to manage one or more business processes, such as a payroll function. A business process may depend upon the network and various nodes in order to complete its goals. For example, when a business process such as payroll is described, the relevant system entities may include client workstations, computer servers, file servers, database servers, applications, peripherals, processes, and the network connecting these entities. Such a system is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/058,054, incorporated herein by reference.
The Spectrum(trademark) system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,044 issued Nov. 9, 1993 to Roger Dev et al., which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The Spectrum(trademark) network management system is commercially available and also described in various user manuals and literature available from Cabletron Systems, Inc., Rochester, N.H.
Other network management platforms and applications for the basic filtering of alarms which are commercially available include: (1) HP OpenView, 3000 Hanover Street, Palto, Calif. 94304; (2) Optivity, Bay Networks, 4401 Great American Pkwy., Santa Clara, Calif. 95054; (3) IBM Netview/6000, IBM Corp., Old Orchard Road, Armonk, N.Y. 10504; (4) SunNet Manager, SunConnect, 2550 Garcia Ave, Mountain View, Calif. 94043, and (5) Unicenter TNG, Computer Associates.
Some of the alarms passed between a server and a client system are routine or irrelevant, and the majority of alarms may be filtered out by the client application.
It is desired to increase the performance and reliability of passing objects from a server to a client application.
One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method for distributed object filtering including: (a) generating alarms from multiple network management server; (b) assigning policy-based filters to both the network management servers and associated network management applications, and (c) applying the assigned policy-based filters to the alarms and for the alarms which pass the filters, generating an alarm notification and forwarding the same to the associated network management application.
In another aspect, an apparatus for distributed object filtering is disclosed comprising a database of policy-based filters; a user interface for assigning policy-based filters to both a plurality of network management servers and associated network management applications; a processor and a memory device containing a program of instructions for the processor which instructions include means for receiving alarms from the plurality of network management servers, means for applying, at both the plurality of network management servers and associated network management applications, policy-based filters to the alarms and generating an alarm notification for those alarms which pass the filters, and means for forwarding the alarm notification to the associated network management applications.
These and other features of the present invention will be more fully described in the following detailed description and figures.